Fusible link.



A. B. UROWDER.

FUSIBLE LINK. APPLIQATI'ON FILED 001. 18, 1909v 996,219, Patented June 27,1911.

V I ,[iwaza/Zxv v ALIBEBT'B. CROWDER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

rUsrBLn LINK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 27, 1911.

Application filed October 18, 1909. Serial No. 523,317. I

all whom Mmay concern: Be, it known that I, ALBsn'r B. CnoworR, citizen of the United States of America,

' residing in the city of St. Lou-is, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Fusible Links, of

; which the following is a full, clear, and exdescription, reference being had to, the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

dy invention relates to a link of the dea iption used in automatic sprinklers of fire e. inguishing apparatuses or other devices 'wherein desirable to hold certainparts of the mechanism to which they are applied in assembled condition until suilicient heat has become present in the vicinity of the contrivance to cause the parts of the link to become separated by the fusing of a fusible binding substance uniting the members of the links.

An object of my invention to provide a constructionof the character named whereby the their members may be quickly and eliiciently thrown apartin a lateral direction' inunediately after .the fusible binding substance connecting them has become fused,

thereby obviating the creeping action that is commonly present in links of this character and due to which the separation of the membersis" frequently interfered with as a consequence of the fusible binding substance between them becoming again hardened or set before separation of the'members has taken place. V

A further object of my invention 1s to so construct the link members that they will be I restrained from longitudinal movement by theseparating member by which they are thrown apart, and which restraint, while suificient to relieve the fusiblebinding substance between the? link members of very considerable strain to whichv it would otherwise be, subjected, does not interfere with the separationfiof the link' members when the fusible connection is destroyed.-

Another object of my invention is to provide means-incidental to the lin members whereby they are separated to aspecific de-.

gree in order that only the requisite amount of a fusible substance employed to connect the link members them.

Figure I is a perspective visit ofmylink "with the; arts shown separated from each other. II is an edge view of the link may be present between 1, 1 designates two platesthat constitute the'main members of my link and in each of whlch is a transverse groove 2 that sub dlvides the plate into an outer section A and an inner section B and is of segment shape in cross section. The plates are preferably provided with eyes 3 located in their outer sectionsA which receive the parts that.

are to be connected by theapplication of the link thereto.

4 is a cylindrical rod or separating mom her that is adapted to occupy the grooves in the plates 1, which register with each other as seen in Fig. II, when said plates are assembled. Between the plates is a layer 5 of fusible substance, such as solder.

. It will be understood that when the layers of fusible substance become fused, under the action of heat, and the link plates are moved in the opposite directions illustrated in Fig. III, each of theplates rides in contact with the separating member 4 and said member, by a positive rolling action, rides out of the grooves in the plates with the result of throwing the plates apart, and

the plates are therefore'instantly separated upon the fusing of the binding substance previously connecting them, without any interval between the fusing and separating actions, and as'a consequence the objectionable creeping action hereinbefore referred to is obviated.

' It will be-observed 0n referring to the drawings that the inner section B of one plate opposes the outer section A of the other plate. It will befurther noted that the sections'of each plate are offset from each other and in diiferent planes, and that,

as a consequence, the depth of one wall of the groove is greater from the base of the groove 2 to the fusible substance receiving surface of the section A. The longer wall of the groove extending to the fusible substance receiving surface of the section B terminates in'a shoulder C providing a hook thatis ofi'set to a marked degree 'from the inner end of thesection A atthe opposite side of the groove and, therefore, when the link plates are assembled, as illustrated in Fig. I I, with the separating rod 4 between them'in the grooves in the plates, the shoulders C are so disposed that they extend be yond the axial line of the separating rod, the shoulders G oi one plate extending past such axial line in one direction and. the mating shoulder of the other plate extending past the axial line of said rod in the opposite direction. As a result of this construction, the separating rod at is so disposed between the plates that it acts in a sense as a locking member and serves to restrain the plates from longitudinal or cndwise n'ioveinents. The separating rod 4, in consequence of itssary, for the proper production of the fusible links in order that theywill perform the best service, that the layers of fusible substance employed to connect the link plates be of suflicient. thickness to pro erly unite the plates and hold them united tiring long continued use. In order that the roper and predetermined amount of fusib e sub stance may always be present between links manufactured in accordance with my improvement, I provide each link plate with distance projections which protrude from thereto. The distance projections are preferably arranged in pairs and prelerably produced by indenting the plates from their outer surface seen at T, lfig. l. The ;2't;jectioi'is serve to stance the plates from each other, when they are laid together with fusible substance belx'veen them, in order that the layer of fusible substance may be only otthe proper thickness.

A link ot the character described compris ing a pair of plates, having reg "in egmen L shaped grooves extending transversely thereo't intermediate of their ends and subdividing the plates into inner and outer sections, a substantially cylindrical separat ing member occupying said grooves, and fusible substance connecting the outer section of one plate with the inner section of the other plate; the faces for receiving fusible substance of each section of said. plates being in difi'erent planes relative to each other, and the depth from the plane ohtho inner fusible substance receiving face of each plate to the base of said. grooves being made greater than one half the diameter of said separating member, thereby pmviding hook-likeportions for overlapping said separating member and for gripping the same at diametrically opposite points.

, ALBERT B. ORG WD'EE, In the resence of- E. LINN, H. G. Coon. 

